A user working within a data context, i.e., a set of active applications with associated data sets to accomplish one or more tasks, is often interrupted by the need to invoke another data context, i.e., other applications, other data sets in the set of active applications, or both, in order to perform an unrelated task. At a later time, the user may wish to return to the first data context. Reinstating the first data context using existing technology is difficult and limited, particularly as the number of applications or data sets grow, as more time elapses between the initial interruption and reinstating the first context, as resources such as memory become more scarce, and as more application state altering events (for example, restarting the operating system) occur. Moreover, current technology is limited in allowing for data context continuity in a collaborative environment (such as an online meeting) across temporal boundaries.